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So... going to NYC, I already had a huge list of places to eat. But everyone we talk to had their own recommendations. So my friends insisted we check out this ice cream place. We went Thursday afternoon.
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
65 Bayard St.
New York, NY 10013
(212) 608-4170
www.chinatownicecreamfactory.com
Price: $
Obviously from the name... it's located in Chinatown. It's a little ice cream shop with a logo that looks reeeeally similar to Bowser from Super Mario Bros. haha. I hadn't even heard of it. Seriously... one of the best ice creams of our lives.
My friends HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended the Almond Cookie ice cream. They had a bunch of other really unique flavors too. Like pandan! Most people don't even know what that is! Myself included up until about 2 years ago. And durian... ew. haha. I like that they had an "Exotics" section with flavors like chocolate and vanilla and mint chip listed under there. haha.
My fiance got the Almond Cookie & Pandan (2 scoops) $6.99~ Where else can you get these flavors?! And the combo of these 2 was magical. Sooooo freaking amazing. The Almond Cookie was definitely out of this world. And it had large chunks of crushed up cookies in there.
I got Black Sesame (1 scoop) $4.35~ Cuz let's face it.. I've got a bit of an obsession with black sesame. It is LEGIT! So much sesame flavor. Delish!! Just don't eat it on a date cuz you get black sesame all up in your teeth. hahaha.
We went back again Saturday night because he wanted to take his sister there. Loved it! Of course.
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This was one of the first places on my list. I came across some of their dessert pics on Instagram and was like "OMG. I MUST HAVE THIS!"
Spot Dessert Bar
13 St Marks Pl.
New York, NY 10003
(212) 677-5670
www.spotdessertbar.com
Price: $$
There are like 2 locations I think. We went to the one in Korea-town. It was in a food court inside an office building or something. A little random... but made me feel like I was back in Asia.
We went up to the counter and they had all these amazing pics up on the menu. They recommended that we get the pick 3 tapas for $23~. Essentially you Buy 2, get 3rd at half price. And on the menu it said that 3 desserts feeds about 2-3 people. Now... where I'm from, "tapas" means small plates, and the portions are usually smaller and meant for sharing. So we didn't think anything of it. Each dessert was freaking FULL SIZE! Unless you have 2-3 hungry teenagers or something, I think 3 of these will easily feed 4-5 people. Whoa.... Challenge ACCEPTED! (Keep in mind, this is only about an hour after we finished up lunch at Madison Square Eats! O.O )
Chocolate Green Tea Lava Cake (warm dark chocolate cake filled with green tea ganache served with green tea ice cream) $9.15~
Had to try this cuz we love lava cakes AND matcha. It was pretty and the inside was ooey gooey. But I expected more matcha flavors in the inside ganache. We didn't taste any at all. It was delicious. But the Chocolate Souffle Cake at Roy's is still the best!
Kabocha Cake (warm Japanese pumpkin served with condensed milk ice cream) $9.15~
We all loved this one. Like a warm pumpkin brownie, rich, moist, and full of flavor. I think it was everyone's favorite.
The Harvest (layers of berries, soft cheesecake, meringue kisses, served with raspberry sorbet and black rose milk tea) $9.15~
We got this one cuz it's such a fun dessert! You take the milk tea and pour it all over the "dirt". And it's in layers, so we kept discovering new flavors as we ate this. The best part was the cheesecake crust on the bottom. So try to scoop up all the layers in one bite. The raspberry sorbet was a bit too tart for me so I left that alone.
We ordered wayyyyy too much. There's no way this is for 2-3 people. We still ate it all... what can I say. We don't waste food! :P OMG. I won't lie, I was hating myself a little after cuz I was hurting. And the overabundance of sugar made my face break out! :( Worth is? I'd still say yes. :P
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I had given up hope that we'd make it out to Levain on this trip cuz it was just so out of the way. But luckily, our plans changed Friday and we went to Upper West Side. So then we HAD to take a detour for Levain.
Levain Bakery
167 West 74th St.
New York, NY, 10023
(212) 874-6080
www.levainbakery.com
Price: $
They make my favorite cookies IN THE WORLD! Yes, in the world. I'm not lying, you have to go try it for yourself. Each one weighs like a pound and have the most perfect texture. :) They usually have a line, but it's TOTALLY worth it!
We got a bunch to take back to Dallas with us.
Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie
$4~ each
You pop one of these babies in the microwave for a few seconds after a few days and they are still amazing.
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
I came across this place on Yelp while researching for places to eat in Houston. Snow ice, a Taiwanese dessert that is basically shaved flavored ice. It creates these amazing ribbon-ish shapes and it's almost like eating ice cream. But... it's ice! And probably less fattening. :P
I have it in Taiwan whenever I go back to visit. And in the past few years, Dallas started getting a few places that sell this. However, nothing is as good as what you get in Taiwan.
Hippo Ice
3737 Hwy 6
Sugar Land, TX 77478
(832) 532-7562
Price: $
I was excited because this place was close to Sugar Land where they live. Normally you'd have to go into Houston (Bellaire) to get good Asian food, so the short drive is nice.
We went on the Sunday before Labor Day, the place looked closed when we arrived, I got worried. Luckily it wasn't! We took a look at the menu and my fiance told me he was getting his own. I asked "are you sure?" since they're usually piled pretty high and he said yes. So I guess we're all getting our own! Sharing is for the weak. hahahaha. :P
I got the Genmai Matcha (Brown Rice Green Tea) $4.75~ Plus Ghiradelli Chocolate drizzle and sliced almonds +$0.50~
I love how snow ice looks, so whimsical, beautiful and weird. haha. This was yummy. I liked the dark chocolate sauce paired with the green tea. My fiance said the chocolate overwhelmed the ice flavor. For me it didn't. And the almonds were a nice added texture. It was a huge bowl. He was pretty shocked when he saw this. The texture of the ice is pretty comparable to Taiwan, although I think the one's in Taiwan is even creamier and fluffier. But this is definitely better than any of the ones I've tried in Dallas.
Genmai Matcha (Brown Rice Green Tea) $4.75~ Plus Condensed milk and red bean +$0.50~
He also wanted green tea but with different sauce and toppings. Green tea and red bean are always a winning combo. The condensed milk added another level of richness. Also very delicious.
Almond $4.75~ Plus Tapioca (boba) +$0.50~
His sister chose the almond flavor. Which was my 2nd choice. The almond flavor was strong, yet the whole thing was light and refreshing. I think that was the winner, even though they were all good.
Watermelon Basil (to-go) $4.75~
His sister was meeting up with a friend after so she got this to go. So pretty. We got to try a bite. Very interesting. You can definitely taste the basil. And super refreshing. I'm just not sure how long it would last during transport. hehe. I hope her friend was able to enjoy the fluffiness of the snow ice.
My fiance and his sister both really enjoyed it. It was their first time trying snow ice. And guess what, none of us finished it... hahaha. Snow ice - 1, Us - 0.
This place is legit, for all you people in Sugar Land. No need to fight the traffic and drive to Bellaire! Now I only wish we can get this quality in Dallas...
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Sweet Mix
1811 N Greenville Ave #300
Richardson, TX 75081
(972) 231-6117
http://www.thesweetmix.com
Price: $
Sneak preview at Sweet Mix!! I saw on facebook earlier today that they are rolling out some sort of French Toast or thick toast dessert soon. We happen to pay them a visit after dinner today and saw that they specially made one for a nearby table. They totally raved about it so I asked if we could get one as well. The girl at the register was a little hesitant since it's technically not supposed to be available until tomorrow (or today if you look at the time I'm posting this! haha). She was worried that it might not turn out as good as they wanted it to be. But we assured her that we want to try it regardless...
Sweet Mix Toast (topped with sweet cream, condensed milk, option of strawberry and/or banana, and option of nutella).
We got it fully loaded of course! hehe. I had initially thought it was going to be like a french toast but it wasn't. It was more like Asian style thick toast if you've ever had the pleasure of having one. I love them!!! It was so awesome looking when it came out and it tasted even better! The toast was toasted to perfection. The crust was just the right amount of crunchy and the middle was soft and pillowy. The nutella, condensed milk and fruit toppings were delicious with the bread. I think it would be the icing on the cake if we had added a scoop of ice cream! It was better than I imagined it would be. And I love their waffles and crepes but it totally overshadowed everything else. The waffles my sister got after just did not compare! I'm super excited I got to try this before their official release and even more excited that it's going to be on their menu (I hope forever!) I'm totally going back for more, and you better go get you some!!
I totally told myself no desserts this week, but broke my promise to try this. I have to say that it was worth every bite!! :D
I also got the Matcha Green Milk Tea $3.25~ Plus boba +$0.50~.
The green milk tea itself was pretty good, not too sweet. The boba had good texture but was not sweet at all. They need to make the boba a bit sweeter then it would be better.
Not sure how much the toast was. But our total came out to be $11 and some cents. You do the math. :P
Anyways, back to the toast! I'm still drooling over it... They start offering them tomorrow (today). Go get some! Tell them CHOMP! sent ya! :)
Time for me to go to bed now. Until tomorrow~ hehe.
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Saturday I went to the Asia World Food Court for some dinner. I also wanted to check out the shaved ice place. A friend of mine told me they also had the snow ice from Taiwan.
Big Bowl Shaving Ice
Central Legacy Plaza Food Court
240 Legacy Dr.
Plano, TX 75023
It's one of the many counters in the Food Court. They sell regular shaved ice, flavored snow ice and many other drinks. Keep in mind most of the places in the food court are cash only! This place included.
They only had 2 snow ice flavors: green tea and milk. We opted for the Matcha Snow Ice with Red Bean (green tea flavor snow ice, red bean, condensed milk, red bean ice cream) $6.75~
The price is pretty similar to Sweet Mix in Richardson and the portion seemed just a tad bit bigger since it has a scoop of ice cream on top. The snow ice had a very light green tea flavor and wasn't that sweet. It was also icier than the ones you get in Taiwan. I'm not sure why they can't get the same creaminess here as in Taiwan. The ice cream, condensed milk and red bean definitely helped it sweeten up and provided that creaminess. I liked the red bean, snow ice and ice cream combo...the textures all worked for me.
I would say at Sweet Mix, it's more Americanized with the fresh fruite toppings and Big Bowl caters more towards Asian flavors with red bean and such. Personally I liked Big Bowl just a teensy bit more...mainly because I liked the green tea/red bean flavor profile plus the snow ice texture was a tad better. But if you wanted a lighter/healthier dessert, I would suggest Sweet Mix. However, neither places were able to capture the true texture of the snow ice in Taiwan.. :(
It's definitely something different though if you've never had snow ice before. I would recommend at least trying it.
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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